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In a study of GERD-induced asthma, investigators used a specially designed catheter to measure levels of acid exposure in the patient's airway. Researchers from West Penn Allegheny Health System also reported in JAMA Surgery that GERD surgery helped relieve asthma symptoms.

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Researchers analyzed nine international studies involving patients who were on their usual asthma medications and found that taking an oral vitamin D supplement reduced the risk of severe asthma attacks that require hospital treatment from 6% to 3%, a benefit that was mostly seen in adult patients. The findings, published in The Cochrane Library, did not show that vitamin D improved lung function or day-to-day asthma symptoms.

Some health care experts believe a proposal to allow states to charge Medicaid beneficiaries higher copays for some services may lead the poorest people to delay getting needed care until their health condition becomes dire. The plan would give states a tool to discourage patients from seeking care at emergency departments for nonemergent issues and likely would affect hospital-based physicians more than office-based doctors, consultant Jennifer Kowalski of Avalere Health said.

CDC officials reported Tuesday that vaccination rates for certain diseases -- including pneumonia, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis, shingles and whooping cough -- were "unacceptably low" among U.S. adults. "We are encouraging all adults to talk with their health care providers about which vaccines are appropriate for them," said HHS assistant secretary Dr. Howard Koh.

In addition to being associated with coughing, hoarseness and asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease can cause changes to a patient's voice, researchers at the University of Southern California and University College London reported. Data showed GERD patients have greater irregularity in voice amplitude and frequency, and researchers said that could be one reason why GERD patients score lower than patients without the condition on quality-of-life metrics.

More than half of asthma patients report experiencing symptoms at least once per week, even though two-thirds of respondents say they have their condition under control, according to a survey. Researchers stress a better standard of control for managing asthma, including better education on how to control symptoms.